I got busy these past few days, so here is the rest of the league previews.
The Pacific- LA rules this division. I can’t decide if the Clippers are worth the hype. They don’t have a legit SG on the roster now and they don’t have a legit backup big. The Lakers literally have three good players and then a bunch of players nobody really wants. The other three teams will be lucky to make the eight seed.
1. Los Angeles Clippers
C- DeAndre Jordan
PF- Blake Griffin
SF- Caron Butler
SG- Chauncey Billups
PG- Chris Paul
Bench/Rotation
6th- Mo Williams
7th- Eric Bledsoe
8th- Ryan Gomes
9th- Randy Foye
10th- Brian Cook
11th- Trey Thompkins
12th- Travis Leslie
Lob City will win games. Why? Because look at NOLA’s roster last year and they took the sixth seed. They have a very good starting five. Those five are also their crunch time five and you will win games with those guys. A lot of them actually. I like Mo Williams off the bench, Ryan Gomes and Eric Bledsoe aren’t shabby at all. They maybe the division winners, but I am not a believer in the thought of them being a contender. Because they have two huge whoa’s. No big time shooter, If you say Billups I will slap you and two they don’t have a legit backup for Blake or Jordan. I think they grab the three or four seed.
2. Los Angeles Lakers
C- Andrew Bynum
PF- Pau Gasol
SF- Matt Barnes
SG- Kobe Bryant
PG- Derek Fisher
Bench/Rotation
6th- Metta World Peace
7th- Josh McRoberts
8th- Troy Murphy
9th- Steve Blake
10th- Jason Kapono
11th- Devin Ebanks
12th- Luke Walton
The Lakers have three good players on the roster and those three are all in the top two at their position. Bynum when healthy is easily the second best center in the league. Pau Gasol is the most talented power forward and Kobe is the best shooting guard, heck he’s the best player in the league. That is enough to make it to the playoffs and IF Bynum stays healthy (see it’s a big if) they could be dangerous. One of the three get injured. Good night season. They get nothing out of the point guard or small forward positions. And the bench is shallow. Plus I’m not a fan of new coach Mike Brown. Still when the top 3 is healthy the win games.
3. Phoenix Suns
C- Marcin Gortat
PF- Channing Frye
SF- Grant Hill
SG- Josh Childress
PG- Steve Nash
Bench/Rotation
6th- Jared Dudley
7th- Shannon Brown
8th- Robin Lopez
9th- Hakim Warrick
10th- Sebastian Telfair
11th- Mickael Pietrus
12th- Markieff Morris
Nash is one of the only PG’s in the league who could make this team fight for an eight spot. I highly doubt that happens. They have one legit big in Gortat. I like Dudley off the bench. When Telfair is your backup PG you’re in trouble. And I have always loved Bassy for some uncanny reason and I wouldn’t want him as my backup. They don’t have a SG on the roster just like 13 SF. I don’t think it’s a pretty season in Phoenix.
4. Sacramento Kings
C- DeMarcus Cousins
PF- JJ Hickson
SF- John Salmons
SG- Tyreke Evans
PG- Jimmer Fredette
Bench/Rotation
6th- Marcus Thornton
7th- Jason Thompson
8th- Francisco Garcia
9th- Travis Outlaw
10th- Donte Greene
11th- Isaiah Thomas
12th- Hassan Whitesite
I don’t know about this team. They are young and absolutely nuts, other than Jimmer he is sane. But Tyreke, Salmons and Cousins are all certifiably insane. They don’t have a legit PG on the team or any good back up bigs. Thompson is ok but after Hickson and Cousins they don’t have any reliable guys. Another lottery trip for the Kings.
5. Golden State Warriors
C- Andris Biedrins
PF- David Lee
SF- Dorell Wright
SG- Monta Ellis
PG- Stephen Curry
Bench/Rotation
6th- Brandon Rush
7th- Ekpe Udoh
8th- Kwame Brown
9th- Klay Thompson
10th- Charles Jenkins
11th- Ishmael Smith
12th- Jeremy Tyler
I love Ellis and Curry on offense. I hate everyone on this team on defense. Kwame Brown is going to get significant time on the floor. That’s never a good idea. Then they trade Louis Amundson for Brandon Rush. Who is a nice player but I would rather have Amundson. Look for Golden State to have a very nice draft pick this year.
The Atlantic has three playoff teams in it. I think New York will actually win the division. Jeff Green’s heart condition hurts the Celtics big time. They are old an needed young guys to come off the bench
Philly is a team not to be messed with. Even though they lost in 5 games last year that Miami series was a lot closer than that. Let’s get to the break down
1. New York Knicks
C- Tyson Chandler
PF- Amare Stoudemire
SF- Carmelo Anthony
SG- Landry Fields
PG- Baron Davis
Bench/Roation
6th- Mike Bibby
7th- Toney Douglas
8th- Bill Walker
9th- Jared Jeffries
10th- Renaldo Balkamn
11th- Iman Shumpert
12th- Jerome Jordan
The starters are of course once Baron comes back from injury. I love Fields at the SG. He doesn’t need the ball and is a decent perimeter defender and he can hit threes. I love Melo, STAT and Chandler on the frontline, easily the best front court in the league. Depth of course is an issue but I like this team. I don’t know why. I just think they will win the division and take a top 3 seed in the east.
2. Boston Celtics
C- Jermaine Oneal
PF- Kevin Garnett
SF- Paul Pierce
SG- Ray Allen
PG- Rajon Rondo
Bench/Rotation
6th- Brandon Bass
7th- Marquis Daniels
8th- Keyon Dooling
9th- Chris Bo Wilcox
10th- Sasha Pavlovic
11th- JaJaun Johnson
12th- E’Twaun Moore
Boston maybe old. And 66 games in 122 days will take a toll on them. But they will make the playoffs and contend. Bass is a good get. I really like the rookies Johnson and Moore. I won’t be shocked if they get some burn this year. If Daniels stays healthy he is a good option off the bench. Dooling is a good vet off the bench too. Boston finishes anywhere between 3rd and 6th in the East.
3. Philadephia 76ers
C- Spencer Hawes
PF- Elton Brand
SF- Andre Iguodala
SG- Evan Turner
PG- Jrue Holiday
Bench/Rotation
6th- Thaddeus Young
7th- Lou Williams
8th- Marreese Speights
9th- Jodie Meeks
10th- Craig Brackens
11th- Andres Nocioni
12th- Nikola Vucevic
I like Philly this year. I think they are poised to big things. They return their 8/9 man rotation and with a shortened camp and pre season that is vital. Like in the NFL continuity will help some of the teams get off to good starts. Same here. Philly is still young and Brand had a good year last year. If he can do that again, this year the 76ers are going to be good. They could top Boston this year in the standings. Let’s not forget they have one if the best benches in the league, but I don’t if they make it passed the first round. The East is deep for playoff teams.
4. New Jersey Nets
C- Brook Lopez
PF- Kris Humphries
SF- Damion Jones
SG- Anthony Morrow
PG- Deron Williams
Bench/Rotation
6th- Jordan Farmar
7th- Shawne Williams
8th- Sheldon Williams
9th- Marshon brooks
10th- Johan Petro
11th- Stephen Graham
12th- Ime Udoka
Do I have to really explain why they aren’t very good? They don’t have a true scorer. Deron Williams will make them better than they are. I think Brooks starts by the end of the year. They don’t have a bench, Brook Lopez has declined every year in the league. Thus making Kris Humphries actually look like a decent player. Unless they can fool Orlando into taking Brook Lopez in a Howard deal, New Jersey is a lottery team.
5. Toronto Raptors
C- Andrea Bargnani
PF- Amir Johnson
SF- James Johnson
SG- DeMar DeRozen
PG- Jose Calderon
Bench/Rotation
6th- Jerryd Bayless
7th- Leandro Barbosa
8th- Ed Davis
9th- Aaron Gray
10th-Linus Kleiza
11th- Anthony Carter
12th- Gary Forbes
If I didn’t have to explain New Jersey, I definitely don’t need to explain here. They don’t have anything. Ed Davis is nice. That’s about it. DeRozen is terrible on offense, decent on defense. Bayless is too inconsistent to ever take over the starting job. I think Toronto ends up with the one of worst records in the league.
The Central- This is Chicago’s division to lose. They had the league’s best record last year and it wouldn’t shock me if they did the same this year too. The team becoming sneakily good is Indiana. The Pacers have acquired some good fits for their team. Milwaukee is a borderline playoff team while Cleveland and Detroit are just yuck.
1. Chicago Bulls
C- Joakim Noah
PF- Carlos Boozer
SF- Loul Deng
SG- Rip Hamilton
PG- Derrick Rose
Bench/Rotation
6th- Taj Gibson
7th- Ronnie Brewer
8th- CJ Watson
9th- Omer Asik
9th- Kyle Korver
10th- Jimmy Butler
11th- John Lucas
12th- Brian Scalabrine
Getting Jimmy Butler with the last pick in the first round of this year’s draft was a great pick up. I would expect him to get some decent minutes even as a rookie. Boozer should have a much better year, he was injured basically all last year and in the playoffs. This team goes with Derrick Rose though and adding Rip Hamilton to this squad makes them either the best team in the league or second best behind Miami. First or second in the conference standings for the playoffs for Chicago.
2. Indiana Pacers
C- Roy Hibbert
PF- David West
SF- Danny Granger
SG- Paul George
PG- Darren Collison
Bench/Rotation
6th- Tyler Hansbrough
7th- George Hill
8th- Dahntay Jones
9th- Jeff Foster
10th- Louis Admundson
11th- AJ Price
12th- Jeff Pendergraph
Picking up David West in free agency was a great pickup. It allows them to bring Hansbrough off the bench. A role I think he is perfect for. Fun fact, Paul George grew like four inches this last year. He is now 6’10” playing shooting guard. This Pacers team has so much size. I think they are a fifth seed at best this year. But they could be the four seed. This is a good team and they should be fun to watch all year.
3. Milwaukee Bucks
C- Andrew Boguts
PF- Drew Gooden
SF- Carlos Delfino
SG- Stephen Jackson
PG- Brandon Jennings
Bench/Rotation
6th- Carlos Delfino
7th- Luc Richard Mbah a Moute
8th- Beno Udrih
9th- Ersan Ilyasova
10th- Larry Sanders
11th- Tobias Harris
12th- Jon Brockman
Can Bogut stay healthy? If he does focus then switches to, Can Jennings be consistent? Will he ever be a decent shooter? But this team can be a playoff team. That relies all on how Stephen Jackson plays. If he is motivated he can be the leader this team sorely needs. Look for Milwaukee to fight for a playoff spot but don’t be shocked if they miss them either.
4. Detroit Pistons
C- Greg Monroe
PF- Jonas Jerebko
SF- Tayshaun Prince
SG- Ben Gordon
PG- Rodney Stuckey
Bench/Rotation
6th- Ben Wallace
7th- Brandon Knight
8th- Jason Maxiell
9th- Austin Daye
10th- Will Bynum
11th- Damien Wilkins
12th Charlie VIllanueva
I like some of Detroit’s pieces, but as a team I don’t like them at all. Stuckey isn’t a real PG, he is a combo guard. Monroe should take a step forward as a center. Jerebko is coming back from a big injury. They won’t be terrible, but they won’t be good at all either.
5. Cleveland Cavaliers
C- Anderson Varejao
PF- Antawn Jamison
SF- Omri Casspi
SG- Anthony Parker
PG- Kyrie Irving
Bench/Rotation
6th- Ramon Sessions
7th- Tristan Thompson
8th- Daniel Gibson
9th- Ryan Hollins
10th- Alonzo Gee
11th- Samardo Samuels
12th- Manny Harris
If you read my draft review you know I didn’t like the Irving and Thompson picks. Especially when they could have gone with Derrick Williams and Kemba Walker. I see Cleveland competing with Toronto for league’s worst record this year. Sorry Cleveland fans. You are great, but your owner brought this on himself via karma.
The Southeast is the best division in the East. They have three solid playoff teams, one up and coming team and a bottom feeder. Miami takes the division, Atlanta and Orlando make the playoffs and pending what happens with D12 the magic may miss the playoffs but they shouldn’t while the haul they should get for him.
1. Miami Heat
C- Joel Anthony
PF- Chris Bosh
SF- Lebron James
SG- Dwayne Wade
PG- Mario Chalmers
Bench/Rotation
6th- Shane Battier
7th- Udonis Haslem
8th- Mike Miller
9th- Eddy Curry
10th- Norris Cole
11th- James Jones
12th- Juwan Howard
If Bosh plays like he did in the playoffs Miami is surely to go to the finals again. Lebron is starting to develop a low post game. I’ve been saying it for it years that he would be unstoppable down low and they should run the offense through him doing that. Adding Shane Battier is huge. This gives Miami a great option off the bench, and it allows them to rest both Lebron and Wade more often.
2. Atlanta Hawks
C- Al Horford
PF- Josh Smith
SF- Marvin Williams
SG- Joe Johnson
PG- Jeff Teague
Bench/Rotation
6th- Tracy McGrady
7th- Kirk Hinrich
8th- Jerry Stackhouse
9th- Zaza Pachulia
10th- Magnum Rolle
11th- Keith Benson
12th- Vladimir Radmanovic
Losing Crawford sucks for Atlanta, but they couldn’t afford to keep him. I like the move to add McGrady. Yes he is a shell of himself, but he has accepted he is perfect to come off the bench. Teague took a big step forward in the playoffs last year. Hinrich’s injury hurts them but when he comes back he will add good depth.
3. Orlando Magic
C- Dwight Howard
PF- Glen Davis
SF- Hedo Turkoglu
SG- Jason Richardson
PG- Jameer Nelson
Bench/Rotation
6th- Chris Duhon
7th- Ryan Anderson
8th- JJ Redick
9th- Quentin Richardson
10th- Von Wafer
11th- Daniel Orton
12th- DeAndre Liggins
I don’t know where this team finishes in the playoff race, they will make it but where will Howard be? Does he get traded or do they make a move and try to bring someone in? Regardless there will be movement with this team. Either way they make the playoffs.
4. Washington Wizards
C- JaVale McGee
PF- Andray Blatche
SF- Rashard Lewis
SG- Nick Young
PG- John Wall
Bench/Rotation
6th- Ronny Turiaf
7th- Jordan Crawford
8th- Chris Singleton
9th- Jan Vessly
10th- Maurice Evans
11th- Shelvin Mack
12th- Trevor Booker
This team is young and they have some good pieces. John Wall is going to have a great year. But even with Wall having a great year the team will have a bad one. I love the pick of Singleton and Vessly. Nick Young just scores. I also think they need to trade Blatche. Once they add another piece this team will be on.
5. Charlotte Bobcats
C- Boris Diaw
PF- Tyrus Thomas
SF- Corey Maggette
SG- Gerald Henderson
PG- Kemba Walker
Bench/Rotation
6th- DJ Augustin
7th- DeSagana Diop
8th- Bismack Biyombo
9th- Derrick Brown
10th- DJ White
11th- Matt Carroll
12th- Byron Mullens
Outisde of Kemba Walker there are no good players on this team. Charlotte will be with Toronto and Cleveland fighting out the worst record race. Charlotte is the odds on favorite. They are just blah. I don’t like this roster at all. The worst part is they don’t have any trade assets.
So there is the division break downs. My playoff picks are the following.
Western
1. OKC
2. Dallas
3. Memphis
4. Clippers
5. Spurs
6. Lakers
7. Blazers
8. Nuggets
Moving on.
OKC, Dallas, Clippers, Grizzlies
Then
OKC and Memphis
Eastern
1. Miami
2. Chicago
3. Knicks
4. Boston
5. Indiana
6. Atlanta
7. Philly
8. Orlando
Moviing on.
Miami, Chicago, New York, Indy
Then
Miami and Chicago
In the Finals…
Miami over OKC in 7.